Ethiopia RPCV Bill Tilney criticized the Texas NAACP and its state leader, in a letter sent Thursday to the Houston Chronicle editorial page, for not inviting independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman to speak at its state convention

"In a state rife with corporate greed and political correctness, how can Mr. Gary Bledsoe (Texas NAACP president) be so flippant or Machiavellian in denying Kinky Friedman an opportunity to defend himself," said the letter from Tilney, who was El Paso mayor during 1991-1993 and now lives in Houston. Author, Musician, and candidate for Governor of Texas, Kinky Friedman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malaysia in the 1960's.

AUSTIN -- Former El Paso Mayor Bill Tilney criticized the Texas NAACP and its state leader, in a letter sent Thursday to the Houston Chronicle editorial page, for not inviting independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman to speak at its state convention.

"In a state rife with corporate greed and political correctness, how can Mr. Gary Bledsoe (Texas NAACP president) be so flippant or Machiavellian in denying Kinky Friedman an opportunity to defend himself," said the letter from Tilney, who was El Paso mayor during 1991-1993 and now lives in Houston.

The Texas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is having its state convention in Austin this week and invited all major candidates for Texas governor except Friedman to speak at the event. Bledsoe stood by his decision Friday and said Friedman's comments have already indicated his views of the African-American community.

"He insulted and offended an entire community and refused to apologize," Bledsoe said.

Friedman has drawn fire from Texas black leaders and his political opponents recently over racially charged remarks he made both during his campaign and in the past.

At a Houston press conference recently, he referred to Katrina evacuees living in Houston as "crackheads and thugs." He also called the word "Negro," which he used during a television interview about a year ago, charming. And in recent weeks a Web log posted an audio track of a 1980 Friedman comedic act in which he used the n-word.

Despite a hail of criticism for the remarks, Friedman has repeatedly said he is a realist, not a racist, and refused to apologize for offending some Texans.

Bledsoe said that before the convention, he sent Friedman a letter that promised an invitation to speak in exchange for an apology. He said he received no response.

Friedman spokeswoman Laura Stromberg said that she was unaware of any such letter but that the candidate would have rejected the offer.

Tilney, a longtime Democrat, is a Friedman campaign coordinator and volunteer in the Houston area. He said he was politically involved as a college student in the 1960s and 1970s and admired civil rights leaders of that era. Friedman, he said, has fought for civil rights. And both Tilney and Friedman served in the Peace Corps.

Tilney faulted the NAACP and Bledsoe for buying into Friedman's opponents' strategy to paint him as a racist.

"Its just total balderdash, because that's not what he's about," Tilney said.

Brandi Grissom may be reached at bgrissom@elpasotimes.com;(512) 479-6606.

When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace CorpsSenator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq TimetableIn a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense.

Peace Corps' Screening and Medical ClearanceThe purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

The Peace Corps is "fashionable" againThe LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

PCOL readership increases 100%Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace CorpsPCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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